The present invention relates to a cutting machine that cuts a material to be cut, which is placed on a table, with a saw blade.
There is a known conventional cutting machine, such as a circular sawing machine. The cutting machine includes a table for placing thereon a material to be cut as a cutting object, a disk-shaped saw blade projecting upward above an upper surface of the table, an electric motor for rotating the saw blade, and others. By using the cutting machine, an operator can cut the material to be cut at a desired point by moving the material to be cut on the table to press the material to be cut against the rotating blade.
There have been proposed some mechanisms for avoiding contact of the operator's hand with the saw blade regarding the above cutting machine. One of the mechanisms is as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0096425. In the mechanism, when an operator's hand is detected in a previously defined zone, a pin is pushed out by an explosive or the like, and a tip end of the pin penetrates the rotating saw blade, thereby stopping the rotating saw blade. According to the mechanism, it is possible to stop rotation of the saw blade before the operator's hand touches the saw blade.